VA Birders,
Our Northern Virginia Bird Club (NVBC) enjoyed a lovely weekend on the VA
Northern Neck last weekend (Nov. 14-16). FYI, the Northern Neck is the area
east of I-95 between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. We stayed at the
very Best Western Warsaw Motel on Rt. 360 in the town of Warsaw. It is a very
good motel which includes a complimentary continental breakfast beginning at 6
am. It is reasonably priced and well located for exploring the Northern
Neck. It is also just about 5 miles up the road from Lowery's Seafood
Restaurant
in Tappahannock (the menu includes non-seafood items too), where the group had
dinner both Friday and Saturday nights. Lowery's is probably the most
popular restaurant in the area, and its reputation is well deserved.
We began our trip with a visit to the new Rappahannock River Valley NWR,
Wilna Unit, in Richmond Co., near Warsaw. Highlights there were 3 Bald
Eagles, a Northern Harrier and 9 Wood Ducks. In fact, we saw Bald Eagles at
all 4
locations we visited, with a total of 15-20 eagles for the trip, most of them
adults.
On Saturday morning, we went to Belle Isle State Park, which was new for
most of our group, since we did not go there on our trip last year. It is a
lovely park on the Rappahannock River in Lancaster Co., off Rt. 3 between
Warsaw and Kilmarnock. Highlights included Common Loons and Horned Grebes
(both
seen at 3 of the 4 sites we visited); an immature Bonaparte's Gull, which
provided great views as it fed along the shoreline just below us at low tide; a
Palm
Warbler and a Yellow-breasted Chat (the chat was seen briefly by just a few
of the group); and 12 Eastern Meadowlarks.
Saturday afternoon, after a lunch stop at Lee's Restaurant in Kilmarnock,
we headed for VirMar Beach, on the Chesapeake Bay in Northumberland Co., just
below where the Potomac River flows into the bay. Highlights there again
this year were both Common and Red-throated Loons; Brown Pelicans; 1-2 Northern
Gannets; all 3 scoters, with better views especially of White-winged Scoters
because the bay was calm; and Long-tailed Ducks. Because you are looking east,
viewing conditions are usually best in the afternoon.
Sunday morning, we ended our trip at Washington's Birthplace in
Westmoreland Co., which is all open again after Isabel's visit. Our best birds
there
were 4 Snow Geese (2 white and 2 blue morphs); 10 Tundra Swans; 12 species of
ducks, including Redheads and Common Goldeneye; and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
Our weekend total from all locations was 80 species.
All of the locations we visited during the weekend are included on the
Northern Neck loop in the new VA Coastal Area Birding & Wildlife Guide,
published by the VA Dept. of Game & Inland Fisheries last year.
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
